Cyclones pick up first season winThe Russellville Cyclones picked up their first win of the season in front of the home crowd packed inside Cyclone Gymnasium — 64-51 over the last year’s Class 7A state runners-up Springdale Bulldogs. “This is definitely a big deal,” Russellville head coach Codey Mann said. “I definitely felt good about the game. We’re still trying to find out who we are and that’ll take time. A win is a win and we’ll take it.” Once the Cyclones (1-1) had esta...

PJHS sweeps Pulaski RobinsonPOTTSVILLE — The Pottsville Junior Lady Apaches basketball team defeated the Pulaski Robinson Junior lady Senators 54-30 inside George Jones Gymnasium on Monday. Pottsville took the lead from the first possession and never looked back, outscoring the Lady Senators in every quarter. Pottsville (5-1) led 11-4 after the first quarter and 30-14 at halftime. The Junior Lady Apaches made the score 41-19 after the third quarter. Leading scorers for P...

by
Courier Staff ReportsThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Late run dooms Lady CyclonesThe Russellville Lady Cyclones stayed with Springdale for almost three quarters Tuesday night before the Lady Bulldogs indulged in a 23-point scoring buffet to pull ahead 64-51 by the final buzzer. The Lady Cyclones led Springdale 40-38 midway through the third quarter, but when the Lady Bulldogs made it 40-40 on the next shot they proceeded to outscore the Lady Cyclones 22-11 through remainder of Tuesday's game inside Cyclone Gymnasium. The L...

Cyclones basketball hosts home opener TuesdayThe Russellville Cyclones and Lady Cyclones will host their home opener today inside Cyclone Stadium against the Springdale Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs. Both Russellville teams dropped their season opener against Rogers Heritage on Thursday, but are hoping to pick up a win in front of their fans during Tuesday’s match-up. Lady Cyclones (0-1) head coach Steve Wiedower is expecting a tough game from the Lady Bulldogs. Springdale made it to the qu...

Patience and persistence are virtuesI personally may be one of the least patient people I know. I hate to have to wait on anything, especially in the fast paced world we live in today. For those of us who spend lots of time fishing and hunting, some degree of patience is required or we would never have any measurable success. Young Reid Wolfe, a sixth grader at Russellville Middle School, may have set the record for both patience and persistence as his two year hunting career fi...

Hogs defense shuts down Rebs in 30-0 win FAYETTEVILLE (AP) — Mississippi's late-season Southeastern Conference swoon continued in a 30-0 loss at Arkansas on Saturday. The Rebels (8-3, 4-3 SEC), who have now lost three straight conference games after opening the season 7-0, committed six turnovers on their way to being shut out for the first time since a 25-0 loss to Alabama a year ago. Quarterback Bo Wallace led Ole Miss with 235 yards passing, also throwing two interceptions and com...

Waterfowl Weekly Report (Nov. 22, 2014)Cold weather arrives early for duck season LITTLE ROCK – One of the coldest mid-November weeks on record is stirring excitement among the state’s duck hunters as opening day looms. That excitement, however, is tempered somewhat by a shortage of hunting water in many areas. Duck season opens 30 minutes before sunrise Saturday, and Arkansas is coming off an extended bout of unseasonably cold weather, which typically bodes well for duck hunting a...

Game and Fish Notebook (Nov. 21, 2014)Arkansas conservation centennial to be celebrated LITTLE ROCK – In a few months, the 100th anniversary of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission will be celebrated. The date is March 11, 2015. The AGFC was created that day in 1915 and, in following decades, came state agencies dealing with parks, forests, soil and water, along with conservation courses in schools. A variety of events is planned by the AGFC and partners to celebrate the centenni...

Hector falls to Rison 38-30HECTOR — The Rison Wildcats scored on a 9-yard touchdown rush with 1:09 left in the fourth quarter Friday night to knock off the Hector Wildcats 38-30 in a thriller at Linton Field. Hector stopped Rison on a two-point conversion try after Rison tied the game at 30-30 with 4:22 left in the fourth quarter and was marching down the field in hopes of winning the game. However, a costly fumble by Hector was recovered by Rison and returned to the He...

Sand Lizards escape Lions 28-14DARDANELLE — Sand Lizards head coach Josh Price knew the Hamburg Lions would be a test going into Friday's Class 4A state playoff game at Keenan Field. He wasn't wrong, but it was a test the Sand Lizards passed 28-14. “My hat's off to them (Lions). They're very good. They came as advertised. I'm extremely proud of our kids for stepping up and playing with them,” Price said. Amid two interceptions — one from Chris Kershner and another from Park...

Warriors face huge test in SmackoverLAMAR — Lamar Warriors head coach Josh Jones knows it’s going to take a complete team effort to take down the Smackover Buckaroos tonight. With a rough week of practice, Jones hopes all of his team’s bad plays will be left behind at Warrior Field. “Yesterday’s practice was the worst one this year,” Jones said. “Our kids’ attitudes were great, but we had a really bad practice. We did finish on a positive note.” The Warriors will board the bus t...

Whirlwinds fall to Fort Smith DarbyThe Russellville Junior High Whirlwinds lost control of a seven-point lead and lost Fort Smith Darby Rangers 36-32 in the second round of the Whirlwind Tournament inside Whirlwind Gymnasium on Thursday. Russellville opened the game with a 8-0 run and led the Rangers 11-4 after the first quarter and 21-16 by halftime. The Whirlwinds exchanged the lead five times with Darby in the third quarter before falling behind 28-25. RJHS evened the score ...

Lady Cyclones fall to Rogers HeritageROGERS — The Russellville Lady Cyclones lost to the Rogers Heritage Lady War Eagles on a last second 3-pointer after leading the Lady War Eagles 26-16 in the first quarter. Russellville (0-1) fell behind 34-28 with around three minutes left in the game after Heritage embarked on a 18-2 scoring run. Alyssa Owen hit three consecutive 3-pointers, with another coming from Addy Hipps to power back to a 37-34 lead. Heritage scored to go up 37-36 and...

Moyer signs with UCA for baseballRussellville Cyclones senior pitcher Mark Moyer signed an NCAA Division I letter of intent to play baseball for the University of Central Arkansas (UCA) on Thursday inside Russellville High School (RHS) Cafeteria. Moyer became the fifth Russellville athlete in the span of two weeks to extend their athletic career into college with a signing held at the school. Moyer was a part of the 2014 Class 6A state championship baseball team and pitched t...

Sand Lizards' guards best in a decadeDARDANELLE — According to Sand Lizards head coach Russell Sturdivant, his basketball team boasts the best group of guards in nearly a decade. “Our guard play is definitely our strength this year,” Sturdivant said. “We have four or five guards as good as we’ve had since the mid-2000s.” Coming off a fourth-place finish last season in the 4A-4 Conference, Sturdivant is looking for his program to make strides. Dardanelle’s boys finished 14-13 and ...

Lady Sand Lizards look to make noiseDARDANELLE — With an arsenal of seniors graduating in 2014, Lady Sand Lizards basketball coach Kenny McCoy will turn to his next group of seniors for leadership this season. “We are having to replace seniors that were our leading scorers, leading rebounders and more,” McCoy said, who is in his fourth year as head coach of the Lady Sand Lizards. “It’s a new beginning for us.” Also enjoying a new beginning is assistant coach Kerry McConnell, who...

Dardanelle prepares for LionsDARDANELLE — Sand Lizards head coach Josh Price believes Friday’s Class 4A state playoff game between Dardanelle and the Hampton Lions may be his team’s greatest test yet. “They are athletic at all the skill positions, huge on the offense and defensive line and they are by far the best team we’ve seen all year,” he said. “Oh, and they have 76 kids on the roster. What else do you need to know? They’re fast, big and deep. This is what you play f...

RJHS tops Clarksville in Whirlwind TournamentThe Russellville Junior High School basketball team nabbed a 50-33 win over the Clarksville Junior Panthers in round one of the Whirlwind Tournament on Monday at the Russellville Middle School Gymnasium. Russellville led 16-8 by the end of the first quarter and established a 31-12 lead by halftime. Russellville head coach Matt Howerton said he rested his starters throughout the majority of the second half. Josiah Woodard scored 11 points, whil...

Hector prepares for playoff testHECTOR — Hector Wildcats head coach Mark Taylor and his team enjoyed a round one bye in the Class 2A state playoffs, but drew a doozy for round two. Hector will host the 10-1 Rison Wildcats on Friday at Linton Field. Rison’s only loss was the the Junction City Dragons in Week 2 — the No.1 team in the Class 2A, according to the Associated Press. Rison is ranked No. 3 in the same poll and has outscored its opponents 436-161. It’s a tough bracket...

Wrestling coach Davis passes awayRussellville Cyclones volunteer wrestling coach Terry Davis passed away early Monday morning. Davis was instrumental in getting the wrestling program started in Russellville and is considered one of the top supporters and growers of the sport in the state of Arkansas. Davis was honored with the National Wrestling hall of Fame’s Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award and the Dan Gable America Needs Wrestling Award earlier this year. Davis began co...

by
Courier Staff ReportsThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley